There must be anyone out there better than Trachsel. He has surely outlived his usefulness with a team that desperately needs good starting pitching, because of a sub-standard bullpen. I think it is time to bring up Olson. He can certainly do no worse than this bum.

Calm down John. This is just things being evened out. He was allowing 2 runs every night for 10 straight start. He's not that good or this bad. Hopefully he can have a good July and get traded for something decent. But we were NEVER going to get a top prospect for the guy.

ERIC- This is Trash's second straight year with an ERA near 5.00. He's not this bad? Who have you been watching that's worse?? He's got a career ERA of 4.29, and most of that was in the National League.

Now that Huff just homered, all he needs is a single for the cycle. What are the chances he stops at first on a line drive in the gap that goes to the wall in his next at-bat?

Ugh. Check out Phil Rogers' article on ESPN.com about who "should" be All Stars. He claims "no position is weaker than the AL second base this year" and then talks about Upton, Polanco, Cano, and even Mark Ellis. Fortunately, a bunch of people have posted comments noting he apparently doesn't do any research since there's a very clear excellent candidate.

So, has a team ever had two people hit for the cycle in the same game? Huff needs a single, Mora a triple...nice comeback. Bell pitching well, wonder how long he goes.

Roch -

7-5 lead. Bell's only at 40 pitches, so maybe we can avoid the rest of the bullpen if he can go the distance or the rain dance you were looking for kicks in.

Mix the heart of this club in with an ounce more talent and you've got a winner.

Nice at-bat by Huff before the 3-run shot. Kept fouling off changeups, held off on a split finger 0-2 and, despite the Angels effort to pitch him differently than his prior two at-bats, he still hammers the ball. All three of his hits thus far have gone to right. He doesn't appear to be pulling it one dimensionally (as does Millar) but he's doing a great job turning on the ball. Very different from earlier in the year.

Gibbons still needs to go, either down to the minors, the bench, or another club altogether.

Bell continues to make a great case for himself -- as he's done since day one of the Spring.

I agree Dimitrios. Gibbons has had enough time. Let him go somewhere else and see if he can come back to haunt us in the fututre (I doubt it). I also agree that we are close to being a very good baseball team. The effort is there. My belief is that we need to go get Texeira (goodbye Cabrera) and sign the number 5 draft pick. Let's get some lumber in the lineup. Our pitching is very good overall.

I guess Huff has finally found his stroke! Wow. Hitting for the cycle. Impressive. 2 3-run homers in 3 games. Now if Mora could get that triple...

That breath of fresh air is getting rather stale very fast. There must be a manual in the O's front office on how to mismanage a game, and now they are sharing it with Trembley.

First of all, the bullpen stinks. So, do not pinch run for someone who hits for the cycle for the sake of getting another run, when you will probably need a ton of runs when the bullpen puts flames on another potential victory.

Second of all, do not use up all of the pitchers before the tenth inning. Of course, we'll be lucky if we make it that far.

Third of all, You do not need to pull a pitcher after a 1-2-3 inning.

Hoping against hope....

I wrote the last post before the inevitable, yet I knew it was going to happen. So why can't the ones who get paid to manage a game figure it out. Nice going, way to ruin a cycle game.

How long can we continue to let Ray etal lose these games for us? It is sickening to go thru this night after night. Get real pitchers and some lumber. Let the kids in AAA, AA have a chance. They can do no worse.

How long can we continue to let Ray etal lose these games for us? It is sickening to go thru this night after night. Get real pitchers and some lumber. Let the kids in AAA, AA have a chance. They can do no worse.

I really, REALLY, hate being right sometimes.

At 9:02, at the end of the 5th inning, with a 7-5 lead and no one else warming up yet and Bell cruising, I made the mistake of hoping that the O's could avoid the rest of the bullpen since Bell was only at 40 pitches.

Why, oh why, Dave, did you have to go to the pen? Why couldn't you leave in a guy that's made over 100 major league starts in his career and done nothing but start at Norfolk this year. 49 pitches. 49. That's it. For a career starter that just happens to be the long-man right now and hadn't pitched in a week. 49. Great job.

I thought by the title you might have hit a "HOMERUN" with Amber. Getting back to baseball, the O's seem to be playing much more relaxed and confident. The bullpen needs some adjusting. STOP putting Ray in as closer. I would move him to 6th or 7th inning setup man and send down Parrish and bring up Doyne as closer.

This pathetic bullpen's lousy performances lie on the player's shoulders. On paper and statistically, the Orioles made stellar upgrades in the bullpen, but the players have stunk! Doesn't matter who's managing or operating, the players have to perform better!